Dairy and Gluten-free Homemade Christmas Candies

Make your own dairy and gluten-free Christmas candies at home with these recipes and tips. Included in this post are: fudge, toffee, peppermint bark, chocolate covered pretzels, peanut brittle, truffles, peanut butter truffles, marshmallows, and caramels.

Gluten and dairy-free homemade Christmas candies

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One of my favorite parts about Christmas is creating Christmas candy to eat with my family and to give as gifts. When you’re eating a gluten and dairy-free diet, making Christmas candy can be a little bit tricky, because you have to use specific ingredients to make sure that they’re safe for your diet.

In this post I hope to show you that there are plenty of homemade Christmas candies that are available to you that you can make at home that are both gluten-free and dairy-free. I will share with you many different types of Christmas candies that you can create at home including…

Gluten-free Dairy-free Fudge
Gluten-free Dairy-free Toffee
Gluten-free Dairy-free Peppermint Bark
Gluten-free Dairy-free Chocolate covered pretzels
Gluten-free Dairy-free Peanut brittle
Gluten-free Dairy-free Truffles
Gluten-free Dairy-free Peanut butter truffles
Gluten-free Dairy-free Marshmallows
Gluten-free Dairy-free Caramels

Before we dive into the recipes I want to make sure that you are covered with all the ingredients that you need to make these gluten-free dairy-free homemade Christmas candies at home so here is a nice list of different ingredients that you’ll want to have on hand to create these delicious Christmas candies all season long.

Dairy-free Chocolate bars and chips

I love using Enjoy Life dairy-free chocolate chips for most of my dairy-free baking and Christmas candy making. I like the flavor, love that they melt just like normal chocolate chips, and are really versatile in recipes. I almost always have a bag of them on hand.

You can definitely use any dairy-free chocolate bar that you love and chop it into chunks as another option for chocolate in many of these recipes. Some great dairy-free chocolate brands that I love are Theo and Endangered Species.

You may be able to buy Enjoy Life dairy-free chocolate chips locally at your grocery store, but I’ve found them to be most cost effective when I buy the two or six-pack on Amazon.

Here is where you can find the Theo chocolate and Endangered Species chocolate on Amazon.

Read on: Dairy-free Chocolate: The Ultimate Guide

Read on: Is chocolate gluten-free?

Read on: Are chocolate chips dairy-free?

Vegan butter

Many of these recipes call for vegan butter or vegan margarine. I really love the Earth Balance brand. I feel like it has a good flavor, a good texture, and it does just about everything that I need a butter replacement to do so.

I usually opt for that brand I’ve also seen and used a dairy-free butter from Trader Joe’s that’s really good. There are a couple of other brands out there, so you can really use whatever you like in many of these homemade gluten-free dairy-free Christmas candy recipes.

Read on: Dairy-free Butter and Butter Substitutes

White sugar

Most holiday treats wouldn’t be the same without white sugar. While I know that white sugar is not necessarily the healthiest thing for you, it is inevitable in a lot of these is a gluten-free dairy-free homemade Christmas candies.

I usually opt to use just a standard white sugar brand from the grocery store. You can certainly choose an organic white sugar if that feels better to you.

I’ve included in this post some recipes that also have natural sweeteners in them, so you can be sure you’re cutting back on some of that sugar overload if that’s a concern for you.

Read on: Is sugar gluten-free?

Full-fat coconut milk

A lot of the recipes that I’ve rounded up here called for full-fat coconut milk, and that is simply because full-fat coconut milk is a really great alternative to heavy cream. Heavy cream is often used in candy recipes that call for dairy.

I like using coconut milk in my daily cooking and baking, so I almost always have it on hand. You can find full-fat coconut milk at most grocery stores on the International foods aisle, with the Asian cooking ingredients.

I also have found a six-pack of full-fat coconut milk at Costco. It’s also on Amazon and Thrive Market if you can’t find it locally too.

Golden syrup or corn syrup

Many of the toffee and brittle recipes in this gluten-free dairy-free homemade Christmas candy roundup call for golden syrup or corn syrup.

This ingredient is a quintessential liquid form of sugar for a lot of these homemade Christmas candy treats.

Of course, you can find it at your local grocery store or on Amazon to keep handy in your pantry for these homemade Christmas candies.

Read on: Is corn syrup gluten-free?

Christmas candies: gluten-free dairy-free Christmas candies to make at home

What these ingredients on hand, you can create any of these delicious homemade gluten-free dairy-free Christmas candies.

Now let’s dive into some of these different types of candies, and how you can make sure that your candies are gluten and dairy-free with swaps and some specific recipes.

Gluten-free Dairy-free Fudge

Gluten-free dairy-free fudge comes together quickly and easily with just a few specific ingredients.

While most traditional fudge is made with milk or dark chocolate, milk, and butter, you can make sure that your gluten-free dairy-free fudge is completely safe for your diet by choosing dairy-free chocolate as well as dairy-free milk.

You can make your fudge plain or mix it up some extra flavor with chopped nuts, peanut butter, or some instant coffee for a yummy mocha flavored fudge.

Try these 5 gluten and dairy-free fudge recipes:

Read on: Is fudge gluten-free?

Gluten-free Dairy-free Toffee

To make gluten-free dairy-free toffee, you need to make sure that you are using vegan butter in place of a normal butter. You also need white sugar, maple syrup or corn syrup, as well as dairy-free milk.

I like using full-fat canned coconut milk for my gluten-free dairy-free toffee, but you can certainly use any other dairy-free milk that you prefer. I just like the full fat coconut milk because it has a thick and creamy texture like you would find in heavy cream, a common ingredient in normal toffee.

You can make toffee with or without chocolate on top, so if you’re going to make a gluten-free dairy-free toffee, be sure to choose dairy-free chocolate chips or another dairy-free chocolate bar that you can melt down and spread on top of your homemade toffee.

Try these 5 gluten and dairy-free toffee recipes:

Gluten-free Dairy-free Peppermint Bark

We love peppermint bark in our family and you can make your traditional peppermint bark gluten-free and dairy-free by simply using dairy-free chocolate in your recipe.

To make gluten-free dairy-free peppermint bark all you need to do the melt dairy-free chocolate, lay it out on a parchment-lined baking sheet, crush up some candy canes or other peppermint candies, and sprinkle them on top of the melted layer of chocolate. It couldn’t be easier and people love this as gifts.

Many peppermint barks you find at grocery stores or speciality stores this time of year have both white chocolate and dark or milk chocolate. If you’re going to use white chocolate, make sure that you’re using a dairy-free white chocolate.

Another ingredient note for homemade gluten-free dairy-free peppermint bark: surprisingly some candy canes contain dairy or gluten, so be sure that you are using a brand that is both gluten and dairy-free.

Get the list of gluten-free candy canes brands here.

Try these 5 gluten and dairy-free peppermint bark recipes:

Read on: Are candy canes gluten-free?

Gluten-free Dairy-free Chocolate Covered Pretzels

A super easy gift to give around the holidays are chocolate covered pretzels. These couldn’t be easier to make a gluten-free dairy-free version of.

All you have to do is start with some gluten-free pretzels and some dairy-free chocolate. The two brands that I really enjoy are Glutino and the Trader Joe’s brand of gluten-free pretzels.

The chocolate that you choose for gluten and dairy-free chocolate covered pretzels can either be dairy-free chocolate chips or another dairy-free chocolate bar that you have melted down either in the microwave or on the stove top using a double boiler.

To make your gluten-free dairy-free chocolate covered pretzels, you’ll want to melt your dairy-free chocolate. Then, you simply dip your pretzels into the melted dairy-free chocolate, make sure that they’re coated all the way around and in the crannies, and set them aside onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.

You can choose to decorate them with sprinkles or leave them as is. From there, you put them in the fridge to cool for a few hours. Once cooled, gather them up, put them in a cute cellophane bag with a tie – and ta da! – an easy and delicious gift idea.

Try these 5 gluten and dairy-free chocolate covered pretzels recipes:

Read on: Are pretzels gluten-free?

Gluten-free Dairy-free Peanut Brittle

Peanut brittle is a quintessential holiday treat that’s great for making and gifting. People love peanut brittle because it is so crunchy, sweet, and delicious.

Gluten-free dairy-free peanut brittle is actually really easy to make a dairy-free version of as well.

You only need sugar, golden syrup or corn syrup, salt water, peanuts, baking soda, and vegan butter. The trick to make peanut brittle dairy-free is swapping out normal butter for vegan butter in your recipe.

Try these 5 gluten and dairy-free peanut brittle recipes:

Read on: Are nuts gluten-free?

9 gluten and dairy-free homemade Christmas candies

Gluten-free Dairy-free Truffles

Truffles are very easy to make with just two ingredients: chocolate and heavy cream. However if you’re gluten and dairy-free, you need to make sure that you are swapping out these ingredients to make it safe for your diet.

That means that you need to use full-fat coconut milk or another dairy-free milk that holds up well to making truffles. You’ll also need dairy-free chocolate to make homemade gluten-free dairy-free truffles.

You can either buy dairy-free chocolate chips like the Enjoy Life brand or you can buy a dairy-free chocolate bar how to make yours.

There are many different ways to make gluten and dairy-free truffles, and there are a lot of different recipes out there. Go ahead and check out the ones below to find some that are perfect for your holiday treats and gifting this year.

Try these 5 gluten and dairy-free truffles recipes:

Gluten-free Dairy-free Peanut Butter Truffles

Peanut butter truffles are so simple and delicious for the holiday season, especially when it comes to gifting them to friends and loved ones. To make them gluten-free and dairy-free, be sure to use dairy-free chocolate.

Many of the recipes and sharing with you here are actually “no bake” gluten-free dairy-free peanut butter truffles, which is excellent when it comes to saving time.

All you really need to do in terms of effort is mix up the ingredients, roll your truffle balls, and dip them in melted dairy-free chocolate. It really couldn’t be easier and they are so so good.

Try these 5 gluten and dairy-free peanut butter truffles recipes:

Read on: Is peanut butter gluten-free?

Gluten-free Dairy-free Marshmallows

Homemade marshmallow recipes are mainly both gluten-free and dairy-free, but oftentimes the store-bought marshmallows are not. I’ve rounded up a handful of gluten-free dairy-free marshmallow recipes for you so that you can make them on your own at home.

These gluten-free dairy-free marshmallows come together fairly easily, as long as you have a hand or stand mixer these will be super simple for you to put together.

When it comes to gifting, you can roll them in confectioner’s sugar, cocoa, cinnamon sugar, or your favorite flavor combination.

You could even add some peppermint extract or other flavored extract to make them your own. Gift them with some homemade dairy-free hot chocolate mix or on their own.

Try these 5 gluten and dairy-free marshmallows recipes:

Read on:Are marshmallows gluten-free?

Read on: Do marshmallows have dairy?

Gluten-free Dairy-free Caramels

Caramels are so delicious and really fun to give as gifts around the holiday season or really any time of year. Caramel is naturally full of dairy in the form of butter and heavy cream.

To make these dairy-free, you are going to swap out the butter for vegan butter and swap out the heavy cream for full fat coconut milk in most of the recipes I’m going to share with you below.

I’ve rounded up recipes for both plain caramels as well as salted caramels, but you can also get creative by dipping your caramel candies in dairy-free chocolate.

You can create a full gluten-free dairy-free caramel gift box with three different flavors: plain, salted, and chocolate covered. I don’t know one person who wouldn’t love that as a gift around the holidays!

Try these 5 gluten and dairy-free caramel recipes:

Read on: Is caramel gluten-free?

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